I couldn’t agree more. The Yggy a2 outrage displayed by so many vocal idiots really ruined it for the rest of us.
Thanks! I’ll see what I can find out at RMAF
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You’ll have to excuse the quick-and-dirty nature of the pictures (well, I suppose you don’t have to … but I will post better versions in the relevant review thread(s)) … but this was too much fun to resist posting:
And yes, there’s a bit of lean going on there (entirely my fault, NOT the way the gear actually stacks) …
But a more stable configuration is still like this:
This little setup, while assembled largely for the purposes of reviewing, is enormously fun. And it’s a really nice way to be able to directly compare D/S to Multibit DACs and solid-state to tube-hybrid amplification … with the option for tone control if you want it. And the option to run USB direct or via a USB->S/PDIF bridge (Eitr).
Mostly I’m doing this because I have the stuff here, don’t feel like doing anything productive, and thought it’d be fun to do. Turns out it was, as well as being entirely enjoyable to listen to … even considering what’s sitting just out of shot.
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So many jokes to be had here…but I’ve done my fair share of Schiit talking already 
that does look like fun! I’m sure it was fun configuring it all to work too! Did you get it to be quickly swappable like you mentioned the other day? Also it’s a handsome stack/stacks of Schiit lol
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Yes, you can swap between DACs by pressing the selector button on the right-hand SYS box. Then you can choose which amp is being fed with the selector button on the left-hand SYS box. If it’s enabled, then the Loki sits in the middle of both - but is easily switched in and out with it’s defeat switch.
And all three interfaces (Modi 3, Modi MB and Eitr) are grouped and synced in Roon, so they play in sync/time-lock. You just have to move the S/PDIF connection from the Eitr to the DAC you want to use if you want to play with the USB->S/PDIF conversion (and switch input on the appropriate DAC).
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When someone says the word YOLO from now on, I’m going to send them this picture.
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I absolutely agree with everything you say. Perhaps this is something that only some people hear, or perhaps it follows from spotty quality control. However, I’ve read at least a dozen negative reactions similar to yours, and couldn’t get decent sound out of mine either. I sent it back to Schiit rather than try to sell it used (even though I had to pay return shipping).
Looks most like the Leaning Tower of St. Moritz. Better match for square cases, and it even has “shelves.”
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I think it’s more likely to be about system-synergy or personal preferences than either QC or different levels of hearing.
Not everything is for everyone/every-system.
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I find that statement to be very true, I can’t single out a specific audio item without looking at the whole setup to find a resolution for some problems.
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I probably shouldn’t tease this one quite so far ahead of me finishing it up - and I’ll be reviewing the units individually from top-to-bottom first, but there will be an all-up comparison/shoot-out between current (i.e. fully up-to-date) copies of the whole Schiit multi-bit DAC line coming soon(ish).
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Schiit Pagoda vs Leaning Tower of Schiit - I vote the latter.
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He certainly does. I do envy him having access to all this lovely gear but it must take all his time up. He must work very hard to get all the things done that he does for us as a community. But still, mmmmmm all that lovely gear. 
-Paul-
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Time is the real killer.
While chatting with Tyll at RMAF/CanJam, he let on that it was very hard to maintain a solid one-full-review-a-week cadence. Which I certainly can’t argue with. And he was publishing his measurements - for the moment I’m just sitting on mine (though that might change here very shortly).
But listening to new gear is a lot of fun.
Well … it is when it sounds decent!
And it’s surprisingly easy to get hold of gear for review/audition (more so as the price goes up - presumably because the manufacturer has more upside from a potential sale). Schiit have been very accommodating in this regard. Though a lot of the gear I just buy because I want it and eventually get around to reviewing it - for example the Yggdrasil in the above shot I bought back when it was released, and then upgraded it as updates became available.
The Community Preview Program here should help with that as well - especially as more people start participating (a couple more are about to get gear here from that in the next few days).
Anyway … back to the time thing … between unpacking, setup, burn-in, photography (and processing the raw images), listening, any comparisons, and, of course, the actual write-ups, it’s quite a few days per item (the listening part is typically at least three days, or at least twenty-four hours total listening time - not including additional time for comparisons).
And sometimes I feel like I spend as much time at Fedex/UPS/USPS as I do at home! Right now my office looks like a Fedex depot, with all the boxes piled up in it!
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I hear you, I can only imagine how much time it really does take. You have to have total commitment as well as a passion for what your doing to be able to put in the time and effort that you do. I am sure we all appreciate it. Don’t get me started on delivery companies and of course customs, they are the bane of my life. They’ve had my Focal Clears for over 2 weeks while they decided what to do. In the end of course it meant charging me. But thereyou go. They’re a law unto themselves you have a hell of a job trying to contact them and you can’t directly, just the HM BORDER FORCE Customer care. Mmmm. I will leave it at that. I can only imagine the hell you go through with parcels and deliveries. It drives me nuts. Rant over.
-Paul-
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I think a review a week is a good goal to shoot for, but then life happens and well ha! I’ve found working with @Torq and getting tips on reviews has helped me better time manage my approach to reviews. I also try and keep notes in a word document while listening so I can easily format when putting together my final review.
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Yea, I have had some challenges trying to review things that people have sent me to measure/write about but it is definitely fun to try something new as long as it makes you smile. Though, writing a review on something that is poorly built or sounds bad is also fun in it’s own way. I am through my backlog of requested review samples now and so I can focus on using my own gear again and after listening to a lot of cheaper, inexpensive IEMs and then going back to my IEMs and Over-Ears, I remember why I like the ones I bought for myself all over again. 
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Heck, it takes me a good 5 days to get used to something new, and another 5 to listen carefully enough to discern what I do or don’t like about it. Reviewing an item a week seems like madness.
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